ABSTRACT
How religious actors might affect democratisation has been controversial for decades. To examine this issue, the chapter is divided into four sections: (1) Religious deprivatisation and political change: a worldwide phenomenon; (2) Defining democratisation and religion; (3) Religion, political society, civil society and the state; and (4) Concluding comments. The chapter examines how religious deprivatisation has led to political changes in many parts of the world. In the course of the chapter, we look at how religion is defined, in order to clarify how it can affect politics and political outcomes, including democratisation and democracy. The chapter also engages with three uniformly important components of politics: political society, civil society and the state. The aim is to identify and examine religion’s influence in relation to each and, overall, how they affect democratisation and democracy.
